Withdrawing from All Classes

Important note before reading further: Complete withdrawal from all classes in an academic quarter has different consequences, from a financial aid perspective, than withdrawing from some classes but remaining enrolled in others in an academic quarter. Students considering withdrawing from some, but not all, of their classes, please refer to the Withdrawing from Some Classes topic on this web site..

Students who are considering withdrawing from all of their courses for the quarter should contact a Student Financial Services Counselor prior to completing the withdrawal process.

If a student received federal student loans while in attendance at Seattle University, federal law requires that the student complete loan exit counseling through Seattle University as part of the withdrawal process. That counseling will give the student information about the status of the loan. Loan repayment will begin at the end of the grace period as defined by the loan's promissory note(s) that was completed by the student prior to the loan's transmittal to the student's account.

In order to understand how the student's withdrawal from all classes may impact future aid eligibility, please review the satisfactory academic progress section of this web site.

An undergraduate student's official withdrawal date is determined by either:

The date of the first signature of a university official on the completed withdrawal form, if the completed form is submitted to the Registrar's Office within five days of that date, or

If the completed withdrawal form is submitted to the Registrar's Office more than five days after the date the first university official signed the form, the official withdrawal date will be the date the form is received by the Registrar's Office.

A graduate student's official withdrawal date is the date assigned in the online system when the student completes his or her withdrawal online.

The Student Financial Services Office will determine eligibility for a refund of charges for the quarter based on the student's official date of withdrawal as described above. Refer to the published academic calendar for refund periods and amounts.

Students who begin attendance and then cease attending without notifying the university by officially withdrawing from their classes are, for tuition refund and financial aid purposes, considered to have withdrawn after 50% of the quarter has been completed and are not eligible for a tuition refund.

According to federal regulations, federal funds must be returned to federal programs based on the percent of the term remaining after a student is no longer enrolled unless the student has completed more than 60% of the term. If the student has completed more than 60% of the term, no return of federal funds is required. The Student Financial Services Office has 30 days in which to determine the amount of a student's federal aid was "earned" and "unearned" as defined in federal regulations, and then return the unearned aid in the following order:

Federal Unsubsidized Direct Stafford Loan

Federal Subsidized Direct Stafford Loan

Federal Perkins Loan

Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan

Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan

Federal Pell Grant

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)

Federal TEACH Grant

Federal Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants

Other Title IV Programs

Seattle University is required to return, on behalf of the student, the balance of "unearned aid" to the federal programs. Work-study wages earned are not included in the return of federal financial aid calculation. The student is responsible for repaying, in accordance with the terms of the promissory note, any balance owed on the federal student loans.

If the student received grant aid from the State of Washington in the quarater in which he or she withdrew, the amount that must be returned to the state is one-half of the amount based on the percent of the term remaining unless the student has completed more than 50% of the term. For example, if the student received a $2,000 State Need Grant and withdrew with 75% of the term remaining, the student would be responsible for returning $750 to the State. That is one-half of 75% of $2,000. If there is no official date of withdrawal and a last date of attendance is not established, the student will owe 50% of the grant received to the State.

Student Financial Services will return institutionally funded aid to its source, based on the University's tuition refund calendar. For example, if a student is refunded 50% of his or her tuition costs, then only 50% of the Seattle University institutionally funded aid will be applied to the student's account.